Page 10 of Sugar and the Skeptic
Following the well-worn track from my cabin to hers, I slap away a few mosquitos and focus on the lights up ahead. I can hear music coming from her van, and when I reach the edge of the property, I can see she’s got company. Serenity, Millie and Sugar are lined up either side of a long table, shaking their asses and singing along to the tune of an old jukebox song. Along the table is a large pot and a bunch of glass jars with popsicle sticks lying across the top of them as well as a few bowls and some brown tincture bottles.
I watch them for a good moment, enjoying the way Sugar is smiling and having fun with her friends. It’s a far cry from the serious and confused expressions she seems to get when she’s around me. Which, really, is just another reason why I should quit seeking her out and let her go. But for some reason, even though my brain says I should turn around, my feet force me to walk forward. She catches my eyes and stops smiling.
“Rafe?”
“Looks like you’ve got this candle makin’ process down pat,” I say, picking up the smile she dropped and fixing it to my face.God she’s extra beautiful in the moonlight.She’s obviously spent most of the day outside with her friends, the glow of summer lifting her cheeks and giving her caramel locks extra highlights.
“Oh, hey Rafe,” Millie says as she turns toward my voice. “What brings you out here this evenin’? Wanna help make some candles? We’ve been working all day on creating a signature scent for Whisper Valley, and we think we might’ve finally done it. Wanna see?”
“Sure,” I say, glancing back to Sugar who’s gone mighty quiet and still with every step that I approach.
Millie holds out an eye dropper over her upturned palm. “It’s got some lemon in there, some earthy notes for the woods, and a fresh floral scent mixed with a little burnt sugar to represent all that rum Remy puts in the cocktails. What do you think?”
Leaning in, I close my eyes and inhale slightly, enjoying the pleasant mix of scents but feeling like it’s missing something. “Have you considered adding a touch of coffee in there to balance out the earthy to the sweet?”
Millie’s eyes go wide with excitement. “We havenot. But I like the way you think, Rafe. Have we got some coffee grounds or something?”
“I sure do,” Sugar says, crouching down to dig through a wicker basket sitting on the ground beside her. “Coffee and vanilla together are always a big hit.”
“I, um, brought you some more of those rocks,” I say, lifting the muslin bag I’ve been clutching at my side and setting it on the table.
It opens and all the women gasp at the glittering display of color when the light reflects off the bag full of stones.
“Oh, these are so pretty, Rafe,” Serenity says, holding one up to examine. “Where did they come from?”
“The lake at my place. I thought I had a bunch saved up from when we were kids, but I couldn’t find them. So I just hunted around until I thought I maybe had enough for what you need.”
Sugar rolls her lips together as she looks from me to the bag of rocks. “That must have taken a long time.”
“Most of the day,” I say with a shrug. “But I didn’t mind. I kind of interrupted you while you were panning.”
“You know something?” Serenity says, looking at her wrist even though she’s not wearing a watch. “It’s getting kinda late and Nelson is expecting me home.”
“Oh yeah. Me too. Dylan gets worried if I’m out much past dark. Can we maybe pick this up tomorrow?” Millie adds, glancing at Serenity and nodding like they both believe they’ve completely gotten away with this pretend rush-to-get-home act. I know for a fact that neither of my brothers would begrudge their wives spending an evening hanging out together. We Valentines may love hard, but we also love without control because if you hold onto something too tightly, you’ll either break it or make it want nothing more than to run away. Being in love isn’t supposed to be like that. It’s supposed to be about choice—choosing each other day in and day out. I’m starting to realize that maybe instead of the magical fairytale I thought it was, that this might be what this soulwink thing is all about.
“They cleared out pretty fast,” I say once Sugar and I are alone. “You think it was something I said?”
“No.” She watches their brake lights receding and sighs before she turns back to me. “I think they’re doing exactly what you didn’t want them to. They saw us together and got ideas about soulwinks and happily ever afters.”
“You know about that, huh?”
“Yeah. Serenity told me about it yesterday.”
“I see.” I step closer so I’m directly across the table from her. “What are your thoughts on the subject?”
She bounces a shoulder as she twists her mouth in thought. “It’s not something I have any experience with. But from the way Serenity and the other women see it, I believe that they believe in it.”
“And you don’t?”
“I don’t know.” She looks down and busies herself making sure the wicks are all straight on the poured candles. “I mean, I believe that the universe guides us all to where we need to be. So maybe this soulwink they speak of is just another name for that?”
“Maybe.”
“I suppose the greater question here is do you believe in it?” she asks, glancing up at me with her dark and steady eyes.
“It doesn’t seem real, you know? Like, what if it’s all just a heavy dose of lust? I’m not even sure soulmates are real.”
Her lips tip up in a half smile. “I used to think that a long, long time ago,” she says, picking up the empty wax pot and turning toward the house.
